Qualitative Assessment of Climate Change in Georgia: Comparing Ethnographic Research on Social Vulnerability with Social Indicator-based Approaches Sarah.

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Presentation on theme: "Qualitative Assessment of Climate Change in Georgia: Comparing Ethnographic Research on Social Vulnerability with Social Indicator-based Approaches Sarah."— Presentation transcript:

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Project Description Public perceptions, understandings, and interpretations of the concept of climate change in Georgia Current research on the intersection of climate change indicators with measures of social vulnerability County-level maps of areas susceptible to projected climate changes using climate (temperature and precipitation) data and census-based indicators of social vulnerability Comparison of perceptions of climate change in urban and rural areas in Georgia Comparative ethnographic analysis to determine the range and influence of various vulnerability and resilience indicators in different areas Integration and comparison of qualitative and quantitative methodologies

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Project Objectives and Goals Objective 1: Qualitative Assessment of Climate Change in Georgia – Perceptions of climate change in socially vulnerable communities – Identification of aspects of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity not captured by aggregate-level indicators of vulnerability – Comparison of perceptions in urban and rural communities Objective 2: Integrating Ethnographic Research on Social Vulnerability with Social Indicator-based Approaches – Using ethnographic methods to further refine indicator-based approaches

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Forests and Trees in Urban and Rural Georgia Communities English Avenue/Vine City Pleasant memories and perceptions of the neighborhoods Link between trees, history, and identity Canopy cover as heat mitigation Trees trap pollution in air and water People there want more trees, especially fruit trees Jasper County Large economic base of agriculture and forestry activities Current state of forestry: pulp and paper, sawtimber, etc. (biofuels industries) People want more markets for forest products Adjacent to Oconee National Forest

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Research Methods and Activities Background research on social vulnerability, climate change, and our selected field sites Analysis of discourses and narratives on climate change in various media (scientific and lay) Preliminary and ongoing informal site visits and participant observation in fieldsites Identification of projects and/or research results that will benefit the communities Oral histories of long-term community residents Loosely structured interviews and focus groups in local communities Content analysis of transcripts using a grounded theory approach Work with community leaders to identify ways to reduce vulnerability and increase capacity to respond to climate change

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Informal Site Visits and Participant Observation Engage with key community leaders – English Avenue/Vine City: “Able” Mable Thomas – Jasper County: Lucy Ray, Extension Agent Attend community events – Neighborhood clean-up day in English Avenue/Vine City – High altitude climate balloon launch and STEM training – Attend local church services and community festivals or public events

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Interviews and Focus Groups Interview Questions – Ideas about community (history, social cohesiveness, social networks, challenges and opportunities. – Perceptions of their own vulnerability (individual, household, community) – Observations of recent weather events or changes – Ideas about climate change (understandings, feelings, perceived impacts, sources of information) – Different ways of talking about and responding to climate change Methodological Notes – We plan to ask open-ended, broad questions, and keep interview style flexible and responsive. – We plan to pre-test these questions in Athens, GA before beginning interviews in our fieldsites. – Interviews with Hispanic community members will be conducted in Spanish; others will be in English.

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Presenting Climate Change Projections to Interviewees Past and current climate variability and change Projected county-level future climate changes Difficulties in communicating the complexity of various climate models Does presenting scientific information taint the results? Can it be considered a way to “give back” to the community?

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Ethnographic Challenges How to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in places where we don’t reside? (Expanded notion of ethnographic fieldwork) What constitutes a “community”? Who speaks for the community? How to be inclusive, transparent, and relevant to the local community? How to appropriately compensate participants and /or “give back” to communities”? Acknowledging the potential baggage of the term “vulnerability” Acknowledging the uncertainty of the climate models at a downscaled, county level Determining relative importance of various indicators in determining social vulnerability in these field sites Identifying mechanisms that result in resilience and adaptive capacity Predicting future vulnerability and adaptive capacity in these communities